Nothing else matters
by Leya
Summary: 'I cannot stand to lose the ones dear to me. Never again.' A short story about the series 'Der Hexer von Salem'.


Title: Nothing else matters  
>Autor: Leya<br>Fandom: Der Hexer von Salem  
>Pairing: Robert, Howard<br>Disclaimer: All the characters, except of H. P. Lovecraft of course, are the sole property of Wolfgang Hohlbein.  
>Word Count: 1.218<br>Rating: PG  
>Warnings: none<p>

'I cannot stand to lose the ones dear to me. Never again.'

* * *

><p>Ever since the day my father died I had learned the hard way that the inheritance of his not insignificant fortune came with a price.<p>

I had more money than I ever needed but all the money in the world wasn't able to buy me what I really wanted – a normal life without pain and hurt. Free from the hideous curse that the witches of Salem cast upon my father – and that wouldn't die out until it found a way to destroy me.

Had anyone told me that by finding my father my life would be turned upside down I'm not sure I would have followed him. You know, I never knew my mother. I never knew my father either until he unexpectedly walked into my life and took me with him to England. But we never reached our destination. The curse brought our ship down and my father sacrificed himself to save me.

Now on my own I went to London. On my way I passed a small town where I found the love of my life – Priscylla. The most wonderful girl I ever met. At least until the curse hit again. For long years I watched Priscylla slipping further and further away, more and more entrapping herself in the depths of madness until she finally snapped and tried to kill me by burning down our house. She died that night but I survived even if it took me a rather long time to recover.

To make a long story short: thanks to the curse everyone I ever cared about sooner or later ended up dead.

That is – everyone but Howard.

Right before he died my father told me to find Howard, impressing upon me that I had to find him because he was the only one who could help me fighting the curse.

And he did. Help me, I mean. Howard quickly became my best friend. Helping and protecting me, sometimes even lecturing me. Always at my side. The only constant in my life I could absolutely rely on.

But he also was rather stubborn and more than once I feared to lose him too. And when he took the bullet that was meant for me I finally had enough.

Howard was more than a friend to me. He was to only one who kept me from going completely insane when my life once again took a turn for the worse. I needed him. Maybe more than I ever dared to admit to myself.

He was my rock, anchoring me in the real world like no-one else could. Losing him was unthinkable. I had to protect him. Whatever the cost might be.

# # #

Nervously I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat but it was to no avail. Inhaling deeply I quickly entered the salon where I knew Howard was waiting for me.

He was sitting in a chair at the fireplace, completely engrossed in his newspaper. His guard was completely down but that was no surprise. He trusted me. At least until he found out what I planned to do.

"I'm so sorry…", I muttered almost inaudibly and searched my pocket for the small vial I prepared the night before.

"Hm…?" Distractedly Howard looked up. "What did you say?"

I didn't answer. I knew I had to act quickly before I lost my nerves or Howard got a chance to talk me out of it. Carefully I took out the vial and opened the lid. The dark violet spark I had spend the whole night to create shot out into the air.

"What... Robert what _is_this?"

Curiously and a little bit angry Howard folded his newspaper and stood up. "Have you experimented with your father's books again? How often have I to tell you how dangerous they are?"

The spark was hovering in the air, its magic flaring in the search for its goal. For a moment I wanted to call the whole thing off but then the spark shot forward, aiming straight at Howard and I knew the matter was out of my hands.

There was nothing else for me to do than wait.

"What the hell...?"

The impact threw him back against the wall. His head flew back and I cringed at the painful sound his skull made when it connected with the rough stones behind him.

An almost inaudible whimper escaped his lips but his ordeal was far from over. I could see the violet strings of magic emanating from his skin, slowly and deliberately conquering every centimetre of his body with its unholy glow, until it covered him from head to toe.

The binding ritual was painful. I saw how much it hurt him but it had to be done. For his sake as much as for mine.

"Robert..."

Howard was a strong willed man. Even now he still fought against the foreign will that tried to bind him. Dark eyes full of agony and hurt caught my gaze and Howard pleadingly stretched out his hand towards me but I just turned my head away and ignored the painful cry of betrayed understanding that escaped his lips.

Suddenly the glow disappeared and it was over.

Howard's body hit the floor with a thud. For a short moment I feared that he was dead but then I saw his chest moving in shallow breaths and I closed my eyes in exhaustion. It was done. I changed our lives irrevocably but I had had no choice. Not when I wanted to make sure that the one person I loved more than anything in the world was protected from the dark power that made my life a living hell.

"I'm sorry", I repeated but I knew that it didn't matter. I betrayed his trust in the most horrible way and by keeping him safe I destroyed our friendship. But that didn't matter as long as he was safe.

Suddenly heavy footsteps came running down the hall and mere seconds later the door was pushed open with such a force that it nearly flew out of its hinges.

"What happened? I heard a cry..." Rowlf stood on the threshold, eyes wide with fear and worry and then he saw Howard's unconscious body and with a panicked curse he fell down on his knees and touched the pale face with shaking hands.

"What have you done?"

"It was necessary. I have to protect him."

He stared at me open-mouthed, clearly not sure what to make of my cold behaviour.

"Take him to his room. I'll tell Mrs. Winden to care for him until he comes around."

Still to shocked to answer, Rowlf gathered Howard in his arms and without even deigning to look at me he carried him away.

Howard's life would change drastically from now on and it would take a long time for him to accept that he wouldn't be able to leave Andara House ever again but sooner or later he would learn to cope.

I watched them go, knowing that I just lost the only friend I ever had. But that was alright. It was for his own good.

As long as he was alive it was all that mattered.

END


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